Romeo and Juliet changed her life: qipao designer on ballet dreams, her Qipology brand

Julie Liu, founder of contemporary qipao brand Qipology, was triggered to become a fashion designer by watching ballet when she was 10

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Published: 7:15am, 6 Jun 2024Updated: 7:18am, 6 Jun 2024

The ballet Romeo and Juliet (composed in 1935 and first performed in 1938), one of the seminal works of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, sets Shakespeare’s story of doomed lovers from opposing clans to a modern soundtrack that includes every emotion from romance to drama to humour.

Julie Liu, founder and designer at Hong Kong-based contemporary qipao brand Qipology, tells Richard Lord how it changed her life.

I learned ballet for 14 years, from when I was four to when I went to university. Ballet was a huge part of my childhood and adolescent life – we’re talking going to practice four times a week. I actually wanted to be a ballerina when I was a child.

I was born in the United States, raised in Hong Kong and went to university in the UK, and we also used to go there on holiday. The first ballet I ever watched was Romeo and Juliet in London. It was produced by the Royal Ballet. I was around 10.

Bolshoi Ballet dancers Natalia Bessmertnova and Alex Bogatyrev performing Romeo and Juliet in 1979. The ballet changed Liu’s life. Photo: Getty Images

Obviously I didn’t really understand the story at that age, but I loved the outfits, the elegance, the music, the feeling when you go in there and everyone seems so serious – and I was in awe of how the dancers were on the stage.

I was so drawn to the dancers that my mum put me into a summer camp in London. But I wasn’t used to being away from my parents – I cried every day and called Hong Kong. It made me realise that I wasn’t born to be a professional dancer.